WisBusiness WED News Summary

— The Department of Workforce Development made $167.9 million in overpayments on unemployment claims over a three-year period and often takes years to recoup money that shouldn’t have been paid to applicants, according to a legislative audit.

The Legislative Audit Bureau found 681,400 overpayments between fiscal years 2011-12 and 2013-14. Those who intentionally provided inaccurate information on their claims accounted for $86.3 million in overpayments even though they were just 9.5 percent of the improperly paid claims.

The audit also found it typically takes years to fully recoup payments and said DWD has overstated its success in doing so.

The audit also found almost 1.7 million calls from those applying for unemployment were blocked in 2013-14 because call center staff were busy and telephone queues were full. That was 60.2 percent of the calls placed to the centers that year.

Traffic was heaviest in December 2013 and January, when more than 80 percent of calls were blocked. Less than 10 percent were blocked from February through June.

Read the audit:

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lab/reports/14-15full.pdf

— DWD Secretary Reggie Newson focused on agency efforts to address blocked calls in his letter to auditors. He noted DWD has implemented an online system for initial and continuing claims that will allow filing from a computer, tablet or smartphone seven days a week.

Senate Minority Leader-elect Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, slammed the Walker administration for failing to deal with the backlog and said Dems have previously proposed ways to cut wait times, only to be rebuffed.

“This lack of service is completely unacceptable,” she said.

See more in a WisBusiness story:

http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=338414

— A new report finds Wisconsin’s state-local tax burden claimed 11.4 percent of residents’ personal income, putting the state 12th in the country.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance review of Census Bureau data found that ranking was up one notch from the 13th most taxed state in 2011, though it doesn’t account for income and property tax cuts Walker and lawmakers approved earlier this year.

Wisconsin’s state and local tax burden ranked 10th in 2009 at 11.2 percent of personal income and 13th in 2011 at 11.7 percent.

See the report:

http://wispolitics.com/1006/141216WisTax.pdf

— Thirty-nine Wisconsin manufacturers have been nominated for the 2014 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year awards.

The nominees include Alliance Laundry Systems of Ripon, Plexus Corp. of Neenah and Super Steel of Milwaukee.

The accounting firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich, and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce sponsor the annual MOTY awards program. The sponsors will celebrate the nominees and reveal the winners at a ceremony Feb. 26 at The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.

See more:

http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=338357

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